


Late Night Talks 1 | Jaune & Ruby

by starlightelixir



Series: Late-Night Talks [RWBY] [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Platonic Relationships, Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:47:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22536490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightelixir/pseuds/starlightelixir
Summary: Jaune's voice came out quiet, shaky, and lost in the dimly lit room. “Hey, Ruby? Can we talk?”His visage was the last thing that she expected to see in the archway to the room she and her team had taken residence in for the past few nights, but here he was.----Basically a hurt/comfort fic where Jaune and Ruby both still blame themselves for everything! Ruby gives a peptalk but doesn't really believe what she says. Jaune kinda nudges her into believing it. What's a best friend for, after all.
Relationships: Jaune Arc & Ruby Rose
Series: Late-Night Talks [RWBY] [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1621546
Kudos: 14





	Late Night Talks 1 | Jaune & Ruby

**Author's Note:**

> Reupload from "Late Night Talks"; was originally posted as part of a multichapter fic, but I had heard that series are better for everyone involved with these kinds of things, so.

It had taken Ruby a minute to weasel her way out of bed—the four girls had shoved the two different beds together, creating a space where they could all be as close as possible.

Meaning, of course, over the past few nights, they had rather quickly fallen back into some of their old habits, and huddled together, holding and clinging to each other, as if terrified one would slip away again.

When the others were left undisturbed—though shifted a little—she and Jaune made their way to the nearest balcony. It wasn't the first of their late-night talks since they had been traveling together—even back at Beacon, if Ren or Blake were busy, they would go to each other. They had always been the best of friends—ever since he helped pull her up off the ground, so it was nothing abnormal for them to have these conversations.

“So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?” Ruby said, clipping her cape onto her t-shirt and pulling it around herself.

“Just. Ren's asleep, and of course Nora is too--” Jaune sighed, resting his arms against the balcony rail. “Plus, we've both. Had to deal with a lot for the past year, y'know?”

“We all have.” Ruby responded softly, now moving to stand next to him. “And we're all here for each other...”

“Right,” Jaune murmured, now pressing his cheek against his forearm. “I know that.” He hesitated again, his eyes locking on the ground below. “Hey, you didn't... You didn't see Weiss get hurt, did you? You were out of it, right?”

“Yeah--” Ruby grimaced at the memory—though she came to and Weiss was standing, taller and stronger than before, the scar was still present on her side, and the bloodstains on her dress were still damp. “I was. I didn't see it happen.”

“Kinda glad you didn't see it happen. It was my fault. I ticked Cinder off, I couldn't keep her busy myself—so she. Went after Weiss.”

“I really don't think it was your fault--”

“I couldn't stop Pyrrha from going and fighting her, and then I couldn't stop Cinder from attacking Weiss. It really is my fault.”

Ruby shut down, if only for a moment. It was still long enough to create a rather awkward silence between the two.

“Ruby?”

“Sorry, I'm just—trying to think of what I can say.”

How _could_ she respond—one half of her wanted to lash out, say that she _saw_ Pyrrha die, that she didn't make it in time to save her—that she blamed herself, and while Jaune couldn't _stop_ Pyrrha, Ruby couldn't actually _save_ her.

The other half of her just... Wanted to reassure him.

“Pyrrha wouldn't want you to blame yourself.” Ruby started, drawing a deep breath. “She wouldn't want either of us to blame ourselves—neither would Penny.” She clenched and unclenched her fists, her gaze steady and stuck on her socked feet. “Weiss is... Okay. She's still alive, and she doesn't blame anyone for her getting hurt except _Cinder_.” _And also Mercury, and Emerald, and Hazel, and Lionhart, and also Raven,_ Ruby added silently.

She tried to fight back the tears that welled in her eyes as she looked up—of course, Jaune was a blurry mess through them, but regardless, she still reached out and touched his arm. “Jaune, seriously, you saved Weiss's life with your semblance. She thinks a lot of you now, and Yang does, too. And after hearing about everything, Blake thinks a lot of you. And Nora and Ren—they always think super highly of you.”

She pulled him into a hug—honestly she wasn't sure what surprised her more, the fact that Jaune hadn't interrupted her, or the fact that she hadn't started sobbing yet.

Jaune hesitated, his voice coming out shaky, tired—emotionally and physically. “You blame yourself, too, don't you? Not just for Pyrrha, but for Penny, and Weiss?”

With that being the last straw, Ruby let out a messy, noisy sob, and let her head stoop forward. “Yeah, I do,” She breathed out heavily. “I was right there—I saw both of them—if I had gotten to them just a few seconds sooner, then they would both be here, with us, we wouldn't have lost them, we--”

Jaune pulled her into a hug—tight, stern, and gentle. He tried to keep his voice steady, as hard as it was, and soft. “And what did you just tell me? About how Pyrrha wouldn't want me to blame myself?”

Ruby remained silent, quiet sobs muffled by Jaune's arm.

“It's the same with you. Plus, you were unconscious when Weiss got hurt!” Jaune patted her back, his voice raising a bit. “Come on, _seriously_ , what could you have done there if you were even there _a few seconds sooner_? Like you said, she's fine, she's doing great! She doesn't blame anyone _except_ Cinder.” He rolled his eyes, gentle pulling back from the hug and wiping Ruby's face off with his sleeve. “Seriously. It sucks we both still kinda blame ourselves for everything. But. Y'know, you're right. We really shouldn't?” He carefully pushed her damp bangs back and gave her a friendly kiss on the forehead.

Ruby sniffled, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Sorry I kind of broke down, I--”

“You needed it too.” He lightly ruffled her hair, smiling a bit himself. “Sorry I dragged you out here. You've probably really missed being near your team, huh?”

“Yeah—especially Weiss.” Ruby shrugged her shoulders a bit. “Yang's still a bit peeved at Blake, but... I saw them hugging earlier, and it looked like she was holding her like her life depended on it.”

“So she's considerably less ticked off than before?”

“Yeah, definitely.” Ruby wiped the remaining moisture off of her face with her cape, and looked off of the balcony. “I mean, we're really starting to head to Atlas in the morning, so if she's not _completely_ calmed down now, she's got a long time to kinda relax around Blake again... Are you feeling any better? We should probably try to rest soon.”

“Yeah, I'm fine now. You?”

Ruby nodded, giving Jaune a soft arm pat. “I'm good now... Back to our teams?”


End file.
